Race Recap: CARA Honda Miles Per Hour Run

It has been many years since I attended the Chicago Auto Show. In the days before children, my husband and I went quite a few times with friends. We'd make a whole evening of it, going out to dinner after. It was always a lot of fun!

When the Chicago Area Runners' Association (CARA) announced they would be organizing a race through the Chicago Auto Show, I was intrigued! The race was going to be one hour and runners would be expected to complete as many miles as possible in that time frame. I had never done a race like that before and certainly, I had never run a race through an auto show.

I figured it would be different and it would be fun. Plus, I can do anything for an hour, right?

About 2 weeks before the race, I received my race packet in the mail, an option I paid extra for. I figured between parking, gas, and my time that it would be cheaper to have it sent to me than for me to drive into the city to pick it up. I received the race t-shirt and my bib. The shirt was really small and I was able to easily exchange it at packet pickup on the morning of the race.

I was surprised to see so many runners at the race--there were over 500 finishers! Parking was not discounted for the event, but it was plentiful and my husband I arrived with plenty of time to spare before the race started. My only complaint and this isn't a race complaint, it's a McCormick Place complaint, is that McCormick Place is so big and signage is terrible. I've been there many times for a variety of events and I still get lost. Even finding the parking garage entrance is difficult. I was glad we had the extra time to figure out where to go.

Once we found the Auto Show, we planned on a post-race meeting spot and I went to line up for the race. There were people holding pace signs--I lined up behind the 9 minute milers. We were lined up among some of the cars and there were employees polishing them. Right nearby where we were waiting was the Toyota display and Kyle Busch's Nascar car was parked there, along with his racing uniform. I snuck out of line to snap a photo.

Toyota Kyle Busch car

The president of CARA, Greg Hipp, made a speech, followed by the general manager of the Chicago Auto show, Dave Sloan. They talked about how this race came to be. That was followed by a recording of the Star Spangled Banner and then we were off. We started running down the main corridor between the exhibit halls, and up a bridge with views of the city. That took us down to another exhibit hall with concrete floors which were lined with cones. Runners were moving through these lanes, zig-zagging around the room. We would spend the majority of our time in this room.

And we're off! (thanks to my hubs for the photo--I'm next to the cone)

As I followed the crowd through these lanes, I remembered being in this room--this was where the expo for the Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon was held! Two Hondas were parked in there as well, I assume because Honda was one of the race sponsors. There was an aid station right in the middle of the hall, along one of the lanes. On my first pass, I didn't stop for water. I was running about a 9:30 pace and I was feeling tired. Was it because of my tough 10 miler I ran in the cold wind the day before? Was it because it was warm inside and I wasn't used to running in warmer conditions? I wished I had brought my headphones so I could listen to music to distract me. Whatever the reason for my malaise, I made a decision to try to maintain this pace and not blow up. I was a little disappointed--I knew I could do better. I remembered my motto: Go with what the day gives you. That propelled me for the rest of my miles.

Free race photos for the win!

After what felt like forever, we exited out the door and back over the bridge. There was another aid station and this time I stopped for water. We ran down an aisle through the Honda display. Then we circled around past several other auto brands. There was a very enthusiastic cheer section on the back side of the Honda display--that always puts a little pep in my step! We ran back out of that hall and across the main corridor into the other exhibit hall where we circled around more auto displays. We ran by some luxury cars--very cool and some vintage cars as well. I was happy to see the Jeep display!

Then it was back out to the corridor, across the bridge, and into the cement exhibit hall for more looping around. As I made my way through the lanes, a few of the front runners approached from behind. They were flying! I was not. I stopped to walk at the aid station this time and took another water. I ran the rest of the way until we headed back across the bridge, where I took another walk break up the ramp. I ran down the other side. We took another run through the auto show and it was back across the bridge into the exhibit hall for what I knew would thankfully be my last lap.

The race had timing mats approximately every .4 mile. The finish time would be calculated by the last timing mat you crossed before the race ended at the one hour mark. As I made my way through the lanes, I realized that I was going to have to really push my pace if I wanted to end with a number over 6 miles. There was a timing mat at 5.78 and not again until 6.2 miles, right at the start of the bridge. Try as I might, I could not go any faster than I was running.

At one hour, the race was stopped. I was so close to the 6.2 timing mat but not close enough. Dammit. I walked out of the room and up and over the bridge to find my husband. My Garmin had me at 6.05 miles. During my walk back, I reviewed my performance and came to the conclusion that not only was I tired from the previous day's miles, but I just wasn't acclimated to the warm and dry conditions in McCormick Place.

I made my way back to the Honda display to collect my medal and goody bag. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in the medal--it was plastic, although the design was cute. The goody bag had an Rx bar, a banana, and a bottle of water. I found my husband and we spent some time walking around the auto show. Having early access to the show was an amazing perk of this race. I am a bit of a car lover, having grown up with a father who restored and showed classic cars. I learned a lot about cars from him and have a great appreciation for cars.

My favorites? I'm definitely a muscle car kinda gal.

Mustang Cobra Prototype, 2020 Corvette, 2020 Mustang Mach E ( this one's all electric)

And I love my Jeeps.

My husband spotted this Rolls Royce SUV.

We got a kick out of these, too.

In spite of my struggles, the CARA Honda Miles Per Hour run was really fun fun! I've never run a timed race before and it definitely requires a different kind of mental mindset. Running through the car displays was really cool. It kind of reminded me of when I ran the WDW Half Marathon. Sure, we ran through the parks. But most of the race was spent running on the back roads, in the dark. If I run this race again, I'll definitely wear my headphones for the boring part in the cement exhibit hall. I would also pre-hydrate a little better. Overall, this was a well-organized, fun event. I would expect it to be very popular in upcoming years!

I ran a race through the Chicago Auto Show! /via @oldrunningmom @CARAruns @Honda @ChiAutoShow #runchat #running #chicagoautoshow #carahondamilesperhourrun

Have you ever run a race that measured miles run instead of time? What is the most unique race you've ever run? 

I'm linking up with Kim and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics
and with the Runners' Roundup: Debbie, Deborah, Smitha, Jen, Rachel, and Lisa.